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May 17, 2007

G39: Red Sox 2, Tigers 1

Singles by Crisp and Ramirez brought in a first-inning run. Brilliant play by Coco on Ortiz's grounder to second. Crisp hit the deck and Polanco couldn't reach him with the ball in his bare hand for a force. So Polcano threw to first for the out, but because of the Papi shift, 3B Inge was hanging around second near Coco. Crisp waited 2-3 seconds, then took off for third uncontested.

(There has been talk at Chez Sock about possible similarities between the 2007 Red Sox and the 1998 Yankees. Nine years ago, it seemed that if the Yankees' opponent made even the slightest mistake, at bat or in the field, the Yankees pounced and exploited it. We're seeing the Sox do the same thing, mostly recently with the Mother's Day Miracle and with Coco's opportunistic dash to third today. (I wouldn't be too annoyed with 114 wins, either.))

An infield error, Ortiz's walk and Youkilis's second hit of the game made it 2-0 in the third.

The Tigers got their run in the fifth, but Lips was able to retire Ordonez with the bases loaded to keep it at 2-1. He was at 85 pitches, but was able to get the side in order in the sixth on only six pitches, giving himself the chance to come out for the seventh. And making it easy to use the Jeemer & the Bot to close it out.

Zach Miner -- not Mike Maroth (stomach flu, didn't have a pleasant night last night, apparently) -- gets the start for the Tigers. He made his big-league debut against the Red Sox last June, giving up home runs to Alex Gonzalez and Kevin Youkilis.

49 comments:

"The main thing is staying healthy," Tavarez said. "You will see in October. We will be in the World Series if we stay healthy. We have everything we need out here. We have one of the best closers in baseball, good starting rotation, good bullpen, a hell of a lineup, 38,000 fans every single game. What else can you ask for? You can't ask for anything else."

Didn't we recently see a play where the fan interfered in the same spot, with the other team up, and the umps called it a double, and Remy said, "You can't assume the guy wouldn't have made it to second, they have to take the easy way out and just say it's a double"? And today, Remy says, "I agree with the ump, it should've been only a single." Terrible job.

"If it's the ump's call, then a single is the right call. No way Manny goes to third on that."

Not my point. If Remy's saying the thing to do on that exact play is to assume the double (which I kind of agree with, because you can't tell me the ump knows exactly where that ball's gonna bounce off that wall), why is he changing it today to "Oh, it definitely would've been a single."

I think if they call that a double, Leyland argues less than Tito did about it being a single.

Terrible job by the asshole who still doesn't know not to interfere with a ball in play.

Funny you should ask.... before I read your comment, I was gonna say, Let's just pick any other franchise to compare this team to, if we must make comparisons:)

You'd said Allan kept saying "they can't keep this up," yet they did, back in 1998. And I was in the same boat as him. I kept saying things like "this is the worst 100-win team in history!" And maybe they are similar to our team now, but I just can't see it, because of seeing one from the extreme opposite angle as I did the other.

I do remember it seeming like any time a team scored against those Yanks, they'd come back and match it, or re-take the lead, the NEXT INNING. Man, I don't even want to think about that team. Freakin' Brosius.

I always trust the Sox to beat the Yanks, but the Mets always seem to crap their pants at the sight of the interlocking arachnid.

So true. That's because the Mets Suck.

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So re '98 comparisons, is Jere speaking for Joy Nation?

The '98 Yankees are the team of my heart, and they always will be. I had never followed a team so closely in my life, or been so rewarded for it. Plus my life - my real life, outside of baseball - was very difficult at the time, and they pulled me through. I can only look back on that team with joy and gratitude.

Now the 2007 Red Sox are reminding me of them, more and more, with every game.

That can't be a bad thing, given 114 wins and a ring.

But if Joy Nation would rather I not talk about it, I'll respect that. So far it's only Jere. Not that Jere's opinion is not important - it is, very. I'm just wondering if his opinion reflects the general mood.

From the AP recap:-Yankees OF Johnny Damon continues to deal with a sore left calf, which has bothered him all season. He was not in the starting lineup Thursday. "It's that strain I had on opening day," said Damon, who is batting .256 with two homers and 13 RBIs. "It's still kind of there but I'm all right." Melky Cabrera got the start in center.-

I think his back still hurts as well, but that's been the case since the bases-loaded SO with which he ended his career (am I mistaken?) in Beantown.

My $0.02 - I'd rather compare us to one of those crazy good Seattle teams, but... if we must be the 98 Yankees, then, okay. I hated them then, but in retrospect they were certainly a lot more tolerable than the more recent years' crew of mercenaries.

I would also love to see the Yankees 55 GB at the end of the season. (55!)

I think his back still hurts as well, but that's been the case since the bases-loaded SO with which he ended his career (am I mistaken?) in Beantown.

I was mistaken. He struck out again in the ninth. But his bases-loaded SO in the sixth was so frustrating because we loaded the bases with no outs. Varitek pinch hit for Mirabelli: popup. Graffanino popped up. Then Damon's SO.